Indeed, one of the benefits of rules-committee service is a better understanding of the rules. That can be to a coach's advantage, according to former coach and Women's Basketball Rules Committee Chair Lynn Hickey.

"After being on the committee it really hit me as a coach that I'd never really studied the rules in detail," said the current athletics director at the University of Texas at San Antonio. "There hasn't been a coach on that committee who didn't leave without a better understanding of the rules."

Hickey said knowing the rules can mean one or two extra victories a year under the right circumstances. She also said she's surprised at the number of coaches who don't know the rules.

"As a coaching staff, you can probably do a better job if somebody on the staff understands all the ins and outs of the playing rules," she said. "Some coaches aren't that detail-oriented. You can be very good at your job and win a lot of games, but sometimes it pays to know the rules. We had a softball coach who knew every rule in the book and I've seen her win games because of a protest raised at the right time. She was able to use the rules to her advantage because she knew them better than the opposing coach."